Description of the Problem
My community has developed a habit of ignoring their environment due to their careless attitude towards litter disposal. Despite the development and provision of the general dumping site, the community still does not utilize the dump site as provided by the governing body. This has led to the ugly nature of the community environment, and none of the stakeholders have developed an interest in solving the problem. This paper offers a description of the community problem of littering before offering a solution that will help alleviate the problem.
Litter scattering within my community has currently formed part of the residents as they find it normal to throw the litter everywhere after use. Usually, they dispose of the litter carelessly with less concern for environmental safety. The community has become a neglected environment and you can hardly take a twenty-meter walk without coming across a self-created dumpsite and litter. It has come to the point that everybody perceives it normal to throw the litter anywhere within the community with little or no concern for the environment. The paradox is that you are likely to find the dumpsite empty, but the environment is full of litter. This demonstrates that the residents of this community are increasingly becoming more careless concerning their environment (Greenberg, 2012).
Litter scattering in the community has reduced the aesthetic value of this environment as most places are filled with litter. This has led to a situation where important biological activities on the environment have stopped due to litter scattering. Furthermore, it has resulted in the wastage of the land space as some self-created dumpsite has brought an ugly shape of nature that nobody would like to associate with. Several human injuries have been brought about by the scattering of litter in the community, especially the solid ones (Busari, 2009). Sometimes, the broken bottles and glasses scattered in the environment are buried underground and they get exposed later to cause injuries to the people.
The drainage system has been greatly affected by the litter scattering in the community. When litter is carelessly disposed within the environment, most of the litter is transported along the drainage line, causing blockages in drainage. When the drainage is seriously blocked, the waterways are diverted causing more floods and increased environmental risks. The broken bottles in the community collect water and store them, hence becoming the breeding sites for mosquitoes and other dangerous disease-causing organisms (Matsumoto & Takeuchi, 2011). The bad smell of the garbage deposited in the drainage deteriorates the value of the community air, especially when it results in the open decomposition of the garbage. When it rains, the litter on the roads is decomposed faster, causing smells on the roads as well as slippery roads. Therefore, the community is at increased risk of harm from the careless littering of the environment.
Description of the Solution
The problem can be solved immediately by two different similar methods applied along the homestead and on roads. The two methods include; installing the various bins along the roads as well as busy routes with a regular truck passing to collect the waste more frequently (Sanders, 2013). This method will involve sensitizing the community concerning the method with its advantages to the community. Within the residential areas or homestead, the problem can also be solved through the use of the communal litter collection at a specific point containing a family of forty houses and a vehicle being used to collect the waste to the landfills at frequent intervals. The litter bin for the forty houses will be constructed along the passable routes to reduce the cost of fuel for the collection truck. This will also fasten the process by which litter is being collected by the concerned entities. The road and root bin should be ranging from twenty liters weather proof bins to forty liters weather proof bins.
The households will collect their self-generated litter or waste and transport to the big bins outside them which are along the path of the truck. The bin will be constructed in such a way that it is weatherproof. These bins will be located at strategic locations that allow for emergency collection and disposal. Being an animal proof, it will avoid the animal scattering of the litter, since they will not be able to intrude the bin (Robles-morua, Meyer, & Durfee, 2009). Water in the collection point can lead to faster decomposition of waste similar to when heated by the sunlight. Therefore, the water collection points need to be serviced as frequently as possible to reduce the rate of waste decomposition within the environment.
The crews will be hired and trained on the truck operation as well as on the ways of handling the litter to avoid any contamination during their operation. As part of their training, the crews will be trained in emergency response mechanisms to ensure that any kind of litter does not cause an environmental hazard. The payment for the crews as well as fueling of the tank will be contributed by the community as a monthly subscription will be levied per each household. The crew will be involved in collecting litter that is scattered along the routes and any other litter found near any household. The crew will replace small litter bins with large litter bins to facilitate emergency collection. Along the routes, individuals will be trained to report cases of extreme littering to the concerned entities so that such litter is collected promptly.
The method proposed is relatively expensive at the initial stages of installation, but its maintenance will be cheaper as it will only involve the payment to the crews and fueling the trucks. The method is self-motivating as the individual will not have to walk a long distance before seeing the litter bin. The method cannot lead to environment bad smell since the frequent collection of waste by the truck reduces chances of decomposition.
There is a need to create major dump sites around the community to support the weekly waste collection initiatives. Creation of such a dumpsite would allow for faster collection and disposal of the litter around the community (Miehl, 2011). The major dump sites are to be constructed away from the households to reduce possible effects to the humans. Weekly collection would require voluntary work that calls for extra efforts from the community. Therefore, community sensitization is necessary to ensure that most members in the community take part in the emergency litter disposal. The method would have encouraged litter scattering since individuals would be certain that the litter will be collected at the end of the week.
The proposed methods had several disadvantages that could complicate the litter collection and disposal process. My method is more advantageous than the first proposed methods as a landfill will only be used for a short period of time before it reduce the land to the normal conditions. The bins along the roads will be appealing to the eye and could only attract the users than allowing them to put the waste outside the bin.
The audience may challenge me on the duration that the construction will take to solve the current problem as well as the source of the crews for the work proposed. For the duration of construction, it will depend on the availability of the capital as most of the bins are readily available in the market and only stands will be constructed. Also the community holding points will be masonry built with tops which does not take a longer time provided the materials are provided. On getting the crews, an advertisement will be made in major media outlets to attract a good team that is capable of handling the emergency procedures. The landfill construction will involve faster designs and application of the machines to do the construction through issuing of contracts.
Only when controlled at this early stage with the urgency it requires that the problem can be solved since it has started destroying the community environment. With the advantages that come with my proposal I believe it is the best method of urgency required to reclaim the value of our land. Therefore, I make a plea to the authority to implement my proposal to solve the problem of litter scattering.
References
Busari, O. (2009). Water, sanitation and sustainability: Lessons from a community project. Environment, Development and Sustainability, 11(1), 71-83.
Greenberg, M. H., PhD. (2012). Sanitation and public health: A heritage to remember and continue. American Journal of Public Health, 102(2), 204-6.
Matsumoto, S., & Takeuchi, K. (2011). The effect of community characteristics on the frequency of illegal dumping. Environmental Economics and Policy Studies, 13(3), 177-193.
Miehl, G. F. (2011). Community emergency response: Have you met your neighbors yet? Professional Safety, 56(12), 35-41.
Robles-morua, A., Mayer, A. S., & Durfee, M. H. (2009). Community partnered projects: A case study of a collaborative effort to improve sanitation in a marginalized community in northwest Mexico. Environment, Development and Sustainability, 11(1), 197-213.
Sanders, M. (2013). Sustainable sanitation - something is going to hit the fan. Appropriate Technology, 40(4), 57-59.
